1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to backpacks and, in particular, a backpack that substantially prohibits and deters theft of the contents stored therein.
2. Description of Related Art
Backpacks have been widely used as a means for advantageously freeing ones arms while carrying objects. Today, backpacks are used by students of all ages to carry their belongings to school. Backpacks are often used on vacations as well and are quite advantageous in that they free the user's hands allowing them to guide themselves using a map, hold a bottle of water, take a photograph or simply hold a child's hand. Historically, backpacks were used by outdoor enthusiasts (e.g., hikers) and casual dressed individuals (e.g., students or travelers). In the last several years backpacks have become quite stylish and have reached the designer markets. Today, backpacks are manufactured in leather and other fine quality materials sold by top designers to women for use as an alternative to a handbag. Backpacks have gained widespread acceptance, in particular, in large urban cities in which individuals are interested in following fashion trends.
A conventional backpack, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,053,382 and D415,344, comprises a front panel, a back panel and a side panel. The zipper that permits entry into the main compartment is disposed exclusively along the side panel. To provide more organization dividers or pockets may be sewn into the interior of the main compartment. In addition, exterior pockets may be disposed along the back panel, side panel and/or front panel. Each pocket generally has its own releasable securing device, e.g., a zipper, for entry into the associated subcompartment.
This conventional zipper configuration is disadvantageous in that when worn, as intended on one's back, the zipper opening disposed on the side panel permits access by thieves to the contents stored in the main compartment while out of the wearer's visual sight. Depending on the contents stored inside the main compartment of the backpack this poses various concerns. When on a trip, the traveler often stores their wallet, passport, airline tickets, camera and/or video camcorder in their backpack. Likewise, designer backpacks are typically used by women in lieu of a pocketbook in which they store their wallet in the main compartment. Often you will see a tourist with the backpack purposefully worn against their chest rather than their back so that the wearer can visually watch to prohibit stealing of their valuables. The backpack, however, is bulky and, if heavy, can cause hunching forward creating inappropriate posture and potential back pain when worn on one's chest instead of back.
One conventional alternative to combat thievery is to resort to using a separate locking device similar to that used for a piece of luggage. Conventional backpacks typically have a zipper disposed about the side panel, e.g., where the front panel and side panel are assembled together, and two pull tabs are employed to access the main compartment via the zipper. Entry into the backpack may be prohibited by securing the pull tabs together and passing a lock through an aperture defined in each pull tab. This is disadvantageous for several reasons. The backpack is generally not sold with the locking device and thus the consumer must acquire this separate component on their own. Even if the lock and backpack were sold together the extra expense of the lock would increase the overall cost of the backpack. In addition, locks are commonly manufactured from a metal that adds extra weight to the backpack. If the lock is a combination lock, then the user must remember the combination in order to access the contents of the backpack. Alternatively a keyed entry lock is disadvantageous in that the key must be stored in a location other than in the backpack thereby defeating the underlying purpose of the backpack, i.e., to store all your valuables. The key itself may also be lost, stolen or misplaced.
Another conventional means for tamper proofing the main compartment in lieu of using locks is to provide access to the main compartment exclusively via a zipper whose terminating ends are both disposed along the back panel, hereinafter referred to as a two-dimensional zipper, i.e., a zipper disposed exclusively along a single panel. Because the zipper is disposed along only a single panel, i.e., the back panel, the size of the opening and thus access to the contents of the main compartment is severely restricted by the length of the zipper chain. It is therefore difficult to view the objects in the main compartment in order located a particular object without feeling around. Furthermore, the size of an object to be placed in the main compartment is limited by what fits through the zipper disposed only along the back panel despite the fact that the main compartment is typically sized to accommodate a significantly larger object.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a theft deterrent backpack without employing a separate locking device that readily permits removal of an object from the main compartment of a size limited only by the dimension or capacity of the main compartment itself.